Defence wins you championships, its been often said.
It’s a common refrain that the New Westminster junior A Salmonbellies paid homage to this week with a couple of slick acquisitions in preparation for the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League playoffs.
New West picked up the playing rights to St. Catharines veteran Adam Bellamy and Kanawake junior B two-way threat Brine Rice to bolster their lineup for the coming month.
Both are considerable additions who can keep the club in the Minto Cup mix, said New West coach Todd Stockdale.
“At this stage of the season, every team with a shot is looking to get those top scorers from the east, but we decided to go a different route,” said Stockdale.
“We are confident in our shooters and thought the one element we could make a big difference in was on defence, and we got two very good two-way players.”
With three players, including league-leading sniper Connor Robinson, among the top-four scorers, adding some depth on the backline makes a lot of sense.
Bellamy is a 6-foot-1 force who as a sophomore at Quinnipiac just carted off the Metro Athletic Academic Conference’s Defender of the Year award.
A 21-year-old, the St. Catharines native just returned to his hometown junior A team’s lineup last week, but was made available for a last chance at a Minto Cup run.
His Ontario coach described him as “a relentless defender,” and Stockdale said he will give the club another element in the battle against undefeated Coquitlam and Delta, who sits tied with the Bellies for second with a 12-6 record.
Rice played Ontario jr. B in Kanawake, and has an offensive upside to his well-rounded game, said Stockdale.
“From what we’ve been told he’s been the top Iroquois player every year growing up. We’re very happy to have them both.”
They are expected in the lineup for Saturday’s game in Nanaimo, and will make their home debut Tuesday when New West hosts Langley.
Stockdale, himself an eastern product who adapted to the west as a player, said the biggest adjustment is in the speed and transition.
“The east plays a very skilled game, a more patient style,” he noted. “They don’t transition nearly as much as the top teams here, so you’ve got to be quick. We take more chances out here.”
The undefeated Adanacs remain the target for all other junior A squads in Canada, with B.C. hosting the Minto tournament in August.
In their most recent meeting, Burnaby played Coquitlam even in both the first and third periods, but a four-goal differential in the middle frame proved to be the main factor in a 10-6 loss.
“We played them pretty well, but we had some bad luck, some bad bounces that they took advantage of,” said Stockdale. “They are a very fast-break team, and when they pulled ahead it was hard to pull it back.”
The Bellies flexed their impressive offensive muscles on Sunday in an 18-6 blasting of Burnaby Lakers.
The Lakers, whose lineup has been severely depleted with the recent deals which sent Aiden Milburn to Delta and Danny Spagnuolo to Coquitlam, were in tough right out of the gate. New West opened the scoring at 1:08, then reeled off eight more goals before the period ended. They led 13-5 after 40 minutes.
Connor Robinson scored four times and set up two others to improve his hold on the league scoring race, with 44 goals and 47 assists. Counting three goals and four helpers each were Mitchell Flintoff and Johnny Pearson, while Jeremy Bosher also tallied three times.
Colton Bykowsky netted a goal and five assists, while Adam and Carter Dickson each contributed a goal and three assists.
New West will wrap up the regular season July 8 in Coquitlam.
